


Ribbons

by NerdyPanda3126



Series: Moments [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Ladrien | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Nightmares, Piano, Sleep Deprived Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Watching Someone Sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:02:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23176645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdyPanda3126/pseuds/NerdyPanda3126
Summary: Ladybug falls asleep on her feet during patrol and Adrien wants to help her get some much needed rest.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Moments [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1666048
Comments: 2
Kudos: 170





	Ribbons

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to create a companion piece for "Lines", but with Ladrien instead of Marichat. 
> 
> For those interested, Adrien hums and plays [Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNcsUNKlAKw)
> 
> Thank you to katieykat513 for reading the first part of this and letting me bounce ideas off ya! <3

She had been tired lately, that much he knew. But when he showed up for patrol, he found her half‑asleep on her feet on their rooftop, leaning up against the wall for support. He hated that she was pushing herself so hard. He stepped up to catch her right as she collapsed. Her head lolled onto his shoulder, and she unconsciously wound an arm around his neck, nuzzling into him. He had to think quickly. Obviously, she needed sleep. And the rooftop wasn’t ideal. She should be at home. Why did Tikki even let her leave if she was this tired? He didn’t know where she lived, or whom she might be close to. And wherever he took her, it would have to be with someone he trusted to protect her if her transformation dropped while she slept. Someone who would respect her privacy and her secret identity.

There was only one thing for it. She had to come home with him. She’d be safe there. It wasn’t the best solution, he knew, and he’d have to pray she didn’t remember Chat Noir showing up at all. But that would be a problem for later, after she slept. He scooped up under her legs to carry her. He would have to take a roundabout route so there were rooftops to run on the whole way. He couldn’t exactly use his baton as a helicopter with her in his arms. But he’d run until his legs gave out if it were for her.

He let his transformation drop as soon as he was inside his window. Plagg hovered over his shoulder, but he didn’t say anything about Adrien’s apparent lack of sanity. He seemed just as concerned as Adrien was about her. During the run, her breathing had deepened and evened out. She didn’t wake up when he transferred her to his bed, untangling her fingers from his hair, and unwrapping her arm from around his neck. As soon as she had the space, she settled onto her back and her arms slid up over her head, with one tucked underneath his pillow.

She smiled while she slept. It endeared her to him all the more that her positivity was somehow so ingrained in her that it bled through unconsciously. It was familiar to him somehow. He pushed the thought away as he went to get a blanket for her. He shouldn’t be trying to figure it out.

He was working on his homework at his desk when she started having a nightmare. He heard her thrashing and sprang to her side to check on her. She had managed to twist the blanket around her legs at some point and her ribbons were coming undone. She was throwing her head from side to side, muttering, with a deep frown. He panicked before he remembered how his mother used to calm him as a kid.

He sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on the side of her face, running his thumb over her temple, and started to hum one of his favorite piano pieces, dropping the octave to fit into his range. The notes rumbling through him reminded him of his purr as Chat. Her face was still drawn, but her movements had calmed almost as soon as he started. With his other hand, he eased the ribbons out of her hair so they wouldn’t get tangled.

He kept humming as he started to drag his fingers through her hair, gently teasing out the knots that had sprung up. Ladybug had nightmares. That must be why she seemed so tired lately. How long had this been going on? She hadn’t said anything about it, though. She always put too much pressure on herself; she would never admit that she was struggling.

He kept humming until she was calm again, the serene smile returning to her face. A small flush of pride thrummed through him that he was able to comfort her and send her back to sleep as Adrien. An idea struck him. He pulled his hands away from her face and tied her ribbons around his wrist for safekeeping. Then he stood and went over to his piano. He needed to practice anyways and she seemed to like his music. Maybe he could keep her from having another nightmare. He lowered the lid so the volume wouldn’t wake her.

He glanced down at her ribbons around his wrist as he laid his hands over the keys. He couldn’t help blushing. He had been running his fingers through her hair. He had been stroking her face. He hadn’t even thought about it; he had just wanted her nightmare to stop. He hoped she wouldn’t be mad at him when she woke up. Although if she figured out how she had gotten here, playing with her hair would probably be the least of his problems.

He shook his head clear and started the first chords of the piece tentatively. He hadn’t played this one in a while. But the notes came back to him easily, his fingers finding the familiar keys. Each time he hit a low note it reverberated through his chest. He closed his eyes, abandoning himself to the music. The chords built and resolved, the melody shimmering through the tension like moonlight on the Seine. His fingers tripped over the keys to hit the rippling arpeggios, the movement almost automatic. He found himself swaying on the bench, his feet working the pedals of their own accord as the music sped up.

By the time he hit the rallentando, his own tension that he hadn’t known was there had vanished. He had put everything into the piano keys. His concern for his partner, his devotion to her, his memory of his mother. The final chords each died away one after the other, leading up to the final notes of the piece. He smiled as he hit the final glissando, and the last note lingered on the air like a sigh.

“That was beautiful, Adrien.”

He opened his eyes to find that she was standing beside the piano, resting her arms on the lid, blushing and not meeting his eyes. He hadn’t heard her get up. He started to blush in return, and his hand moved to the nape of his neck.

“I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“No, not at all,” she smiled at him. “Actually, I don’t think I’ve slept that well in a while,” she finally admitted. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

She hesitated then, and he held his breath, waiting for her questions, rehearsing his story in his head.

“Would you play for me again?”

His breath left him in a rush of air. “Of course.”

She settled onto the bench with him, and that’s when she noticed the ribbons tied around his wrist. One hand wandered to her shoulder to clutch at her hair. With her other hand, she reached out to touch her fingers to the fabric. Her eyes travelled up to meet his.

“I wasn’t dreaming, then,” she whispered.

**Author's Note:**

> Music terms: **octave** a series of eight notes occupying the interval between (and including) two notes, one having twice or half the frequency of vibration of the other  
>  **arpeggio** the notes of a chord played in succession, either ascending or descending  
>  **rallentando** a gradual decrease in speed  
>  **glissando** a continuous slide upward or downward between two notes 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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